NOAA Fleet Update September 2019
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NOAA Fleet Update September 2019 The following update provides the status of NOAA’s fleet of ships and aircraft, which play a critical role in the collection of oceanographic, atmospheric, hydrographic, and fisheries data. NOAA’s current fleet of 16 ships – the largest civilian research and survey fleet in the world – and nine aircraft, are operated, managed, and maintained by NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). OMAO includes civilians, mariners, and officers of the United States NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps), one of the nation’s seven Uniformed Services. 1 Table of Contents OMAO in the News 5 NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps 7 Basic Officer Training Class 134 8 OMAO’s Ships and Centers 9 National 9 OMAO’S MARINE OPERATIONS 9 New Castle, New Hampshire 10 NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler 10 Newport, Rhode Island 10 NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow 10 North Kingstown (Davisville), Rhode Island 11 NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer 11 Norfolk, Virginia 11 NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson 11 OMAO’S MARINE OPERATIONS CENTER – ATLANTIC (MOC-A) 11 Charleston, South Carolina 12 NOAA Ship Nancy Foster 12 NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown 13 Pascagoula, Mississippi 13 NOAA Ship Pisces 13 NOAA Ship Oregon II 13 NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter 14 San Diego, California 15 NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker 15 Newport, Oregon 15 NOAA Ship Rainier 15 NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada 16 OMAO’S MARINE OPERATIONS CENTER – PACIFIC (MOC-P) 16 Ketchikan, Alaska 17 NOAA Ship Fairweather 17 2 Kodiak, Alaska 17 NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson 17 Honolulu, Hawaii 18 NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette 18 OMAO’S MARINE OPERATIONS CENTER – PACIFIC ISLANDS (MOC-PI) 18 OMAO’s Aircraft 20 Lakeland, Florida 20 P3 “Hurricane Hunter" [Tail ID# N42RF] 20 P3 “Hurricane Hunter" [Tail ID# N43RF] 20 G-IV “Hurricane Hunter" [Tail ID# N49RF] 21 King Air [Tail ID# N68RF] 21 Jet Prop Commander [Tail ID# N45RF] 22 Twin Otter [Tail ID# N46RF] 22 Twin Otter [Tail ID# N48RF] 23 Twin Otter [Tail ID# N56RF] 24 Twin Otter [Tail ID# N57RF] 24 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Section 25 OMAO’S AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS CENTER (AOC) 25 Unmanned Systems Support 26 Nationwide 26 OMAO Partnerships 31 United States House of Representatives 31 National Science Foundation 31 Department of Defense – U.S. Pacific Command 31 Department of Defense – U.S. Northern Command 31 Department of Defense – U.S. Navy 32 Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Coast Guard 32 Teacher at Sea Program 33 OMAO - NOAA Diving Program 34 NOAA Diving Center and Program 34 NOAA Small Boat Program 36 3 Office of Marine & Aviation Operations 37 NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps 39 OMAO/NOAA Corps Resources 40 OMAO Sites 40 Two Pagers, Reports, and Informational Slide Decks 40 Other Web Resources 40 4 OMAO in the News 'Dead zone' along Louisiana coastline smaller than initially feared. The reason? Hurricane Barry August 1, 2019; NOLA.com. A groundfish survey aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II in the northern Gulf of Mexico provided observations of hypoxic conditions, which were reported in early August. Map of the low-oxygen “dead zone” along the Louisiana and Texas coast. [Photo Credit: NOAA] UAFS professor to set sail aboard NOAA Ship August 4, 2019; Fort Smith Times Record. University of Arkansas Fort Smith professor Ragupathy Kannan, with 25 years of teaching experience at UAFS, looks forward to setting sail with an ecosystem monitoring research project aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. Scientists aboard NOAA Ship RAINIER return to NW Hawaiian Islands August 15, 2019; Honolulu Star Advertiser. NOAA Scientists Find Decimated Reefs and Invasive Algae August 15, 2019; Hawaii News Now. Scientists aboard NOAA Ship Rainier recently observed the damage inflicted upon some of the atolls within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by Hurricane Walaka in October 2018. French Frigate Shoals before and after Hurricane Walaka. [Photo Credit: Greg McFall, NOAA] 5 Gulfstream Announces Order from NOAA August 26, 2019; Aviation Pros. Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced that NOAA has established a contract for a new Gulfstream G-550 to support weather forecasting and research programs. NOAA’s Gulfstream G-IV, similar to the G-550 currently under contract. [Photo Credit: NOAA] Hilton Head native and Navy veteran now flying into hurricanes for NOAA August 29, 2019; Hilton Head Island Packet. Lieutenant Commander Sam Urato, NOAA, remembers evacuating for Hurricane Hugo when he was 5 years old. Now he’s responsible for getting NOAA’s P-3 Orion into the eye of Hurricane Dorian. First all-female Hurricane Hunter cockpit crew flies over Hurricane Dorian August 30, 2019; WUSA News. For the first time in Hurricane Hunter history, a trio of female pilots flew NOAA’s G-IV above Hurricane Dorian. The all-female cockpit crew aboard NOAA’s G-IV for Hurricane Dorian surveillance. [Photo Credit: NOAA] 6 NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps OMAO and the NOAA Corps are an integral part of NOAA and our officers operate OMAO’s research and survey fleet of 16 ships and nine aircraft. Mission areas can range from launching a weather balloon at the South Pole, conducting hydrographic or fishery surveys in Alaska, maintaining buoys in the tropical Pacific, flying snow surveys over the Midwest, or flying our “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft into, or above, hurricanes. Selection Boards and Application Process The NOAA Corps is currently accepting applications for BOTC 136, which will begin in July 2020. The application deadline is January 17, 2020, to receive an interview. A selection board will convene in mid-March 2020. Additional information may be found on the NOAA Corps website and BOTC 136 applicants may start the process, utilizing the online NOAA Corps E-Recruit System. (NOAA Corps E-Recruit). Recruiting Events The recruiting team is preparing for a heavy fall recruiting season to recruit the next generation of NOAA Corps Officers. Some upcoming events are below. September 24 - Manhattan College, Riverdale, New York September 25 - Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York September 25 - University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina September 26 - Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio BOTC 133 [Photo Credit: NOAA] 7 Basic Officer Training Class 134 BOTC 134 is now approximately six weeks into their 17 weeks of training at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. They have completed courses in basic seamanship, compass & ATONS (aids to navigation), chart plotting, and the Coast Guard's Leadership and Management school; all of which satisfy STCW requirements (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) as well as prepare them to be diligent officers aboard NOAA vessels. The students have completed their first public speaking assignments as part of the Leadership in Writing curriculum and have commenced Basic Safety Training as they prepare to embark aboard Coast Guard Barque EAGLE on September 20. This training will include First Aid & CPR, basic and advanced firefighting, and water survival techniques. Members of BOTC 134 listen intently to Dr. Susan Roberts reviewing requirements for the Leadership in Writing curriculum as LT Larry Thomas looks on. [Photo Credit: NOAA] Additionally, the students are looking forward to Billet Night on October 10, when they will receive their initial assignments. Graduation is scheduled for November 19. 8 OMAO’s Ships and Centers OMAO’s Ship Tracker shows information about the present location of our fleet of research and survey ships. Please note: To access Ship Tracker you must have an account with a .gov or .mil email address. All other access is restricted. OMAO’s ships and related Marine Centers are listed below based on the geographical location of the vessels’ homeports starting in the Northeast and ending in the Pacific. NOAA Ship locations at the start of September, 2019. [Photo Credit: NOAA] National OMAO’S MARINE OPERATIONS Director of Marine Operations: Mr. Troy Frost OMAO’s Marine Operations oversees the operations of OMAO’s ships and the three regional Centers, including the Marine Operations Center-Pacific, Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, and Marine Operations Center-Pacific Islands. Employees of Marine Operations are stationed nationwide to provide strategic, administrative, engineering, maintenance, electronic, budgetary, and personnel support to the OMAO fleet. Each year these ships conduct dozens of missions to assess fish and marine mammal stocks, conduct coral reef research, collect seafloor data to update nautical charts, and explore the ocean. 9 New Castle, New Hampshire NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler Commanding Officer: Commander Mark Blankenship Primary Mission Category: Hydrographic Surveys Depart: Port Canaveral, Florida Arrive: Galveston, Texas Ship Status: In Port Canaveral, Florida for unscheduled engine repairs. Ship secured alongside for Hurricane Dorian. Necessary repairs will resume as soon as possible. Once completed, the ship will get underway for Key West, Florida followed by survey operations at the approaches to Houston, Texas. Newport, Rhode Island NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow Commanding Officer: Captain William Mowitt Primary Mission Category: Fisheries Research Depart: Newport, Rhode Island Arrive: Newport, Rhode Island Ship Status: Planned departure in early September for Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Autumn Bottom Trawl Survey, to determine autumn distribution and relative abundance of fish and invertebrate species on the continental shelf and upper slope. 10 A sampling of sea life recovered by NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow and the “Deep See” towed array during a recent Mesopelagic Exploration project. Clockwise from upper left: Hatchet fish, Fangtooth fish, young Atlantic Moonfish, Viperfish, Paper Nautilus. [Photo Credit: Lieutenant Cherisa Friedlander, NOAA] North Kingstown (Davisville), Rhode Island NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Commanding Officer: Commander Nicole Manning Primary Mission Category: Oceanographic Exploration and Research Depart: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Arrive: North Kingstown, Rhode Island Ship Status: Underway for Atlantic Seafloor Partnership for Integrated Research and Exploration (ASPIRE) New England and Canada Mapping and ROV, to explore deep waters (>250 m) in the U.S.